I don’t talk often on this blog about religion or politics. Mainly because I believe each person has the right to believe whatever they wish to believe. And if it’s right for them, then it’s not my place to judge just because they sin differently than me.

But in the last few days there were some women whose actions have sparked worldwide attention. And it amazes me at how powerful the voice of a mother can be. Like a lioness protecting her cubs, these mothers raised their voices, not to protect their own sons because their sons lay massacred at their feet. Blown to bits by hatred and violence.

No, these mothers raised their voices to protect the sons and daughters of other mothers.

When people think of muslims, they tend to paint us all as one. What most people don’t understand is that there are as many different types of muslims as there are different types of people. And when you’re a Shia muslim, then there are certain other so called muslims who want nothing more than to see you dead. Not because you did any wrong against them. No they want you Shias dead for nothing more than being Shia.

That is why last week 100+ mothers, sons, daughters, fathers, lay dead in the street. Their only crime was believing in a certain faith.

So while the oppressors hide behind their bombs, these mothers stood in the streets and demanded justice. Demanded change.

And they got it. That is the power of a mother. Of the female. Of women everywhere.

Inna illahi wa inna illahi rajeoon.

I don’t normally talk much about religion here. Mainly because I”m a big believer in “live and let live”. I don’t like being preached at and therefore I don’t preach at people. The only time I make an exception is during these days and it is not to preach but more to inform.

I watch lots of English news programs, CNN, Fox, al Jazeera English, etc. and they attempt to explain what the meaning is of the first day of the new Islamic Year and most often do a poor job of it. Not intentionally, I don’t think. Their biggest issue is there just are no words in the English language which can fully explain what it is we are doing and why.

For that reason normally every year I try to make a few posts in various places because there is a common misconception regarding the Islamic New Year. For most non-muslims, their new year is a time of joy and celebration but for us it is a time of sadness and sorrow. There is no joy and no celebrating. Not only do we not celebrate the new year but certain people don’t celebrate any occasions including weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, etc during the days of Muharram.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. So let’s go back and over the next few days I’ll explain what this time is and why we do what we do. If anyone happens upon these simple words and has a question, I’m more than happy to answer if I can. I’m not a scholar. I don’t know all there is to know, but I can tell you what I believe and why I do what I do. I don’t speak for anyone else other than myself.

The first month of the Islamic calendar is known as Muharram. The Islamic calendar is a lunar based calendar which is why the days change from year to year. The first of Muharram 2012 is today Nov. 15th. And today all across the Muslim world, you will see black banners flying and people gathering to commemorate the martyrdom of the Grandson of our Prophet (saw), Imam Hussain (as).

I use the word commemorate because it is the closest English word I know of to describe what is happening. We are remembering the crimes and atrocities which were committed during these days against the Family of Prophet Muhammad (saw). There were numerous crimes and oppression done against the Prophet Muhammad (saw) and His Family (as) but the reason we commemorate these days in particular on a larger scale than others is the atrocities committed were so heinous and outrageous that the pain and sorrow can still be felt amongst the followers of the Prophet (saw) even today.

We show our grief by holding majalis. A majalis is basically a gathering where the events of Muharram and the atrocities committed against Imam Hussain (as), His Wife (sa), His Children (as), and His Followers are recounted. It is a time when we renew our commitment and come back to the true teachings of the Prophet (saw). A time where we stand against all tyranny and oppression and declare ourselves as its enemy.

This is mainly done by Shia muslims. And it can be an extremely dangerous time because the extremists consider murdering us (Shia Muslims) as a guarantee of heaven. To the extremists, Shia Muslims are worse than infidels. And this is why during these days you will see many processions and majalis being bombed by the extremists. It is an easy time for them as Shia Muslims are gathered in great numbers but even though every Shia knows this is a possibility, we still gather as a way of showing the extremists we are not on their side and will forever fight against the oppression they inflict upon us and others.

When you go into Shaam ask from Sajjad (Imam Zainul Abideen) (as)

When the heads of your mothers and sisters are uncovered in the Darbar (court), ask from Sajjad (as)

When the daughters of the Prophet (saw) are hidden behind the other daughters of the Prophet (saw) out of shyness and modesty, and shimr (la) is reciting the names of those women, ask from Sajjad (as)

When all big and small are sitting in the Darbar but the Sadaat are standing and Zainab (sa) is shown the head on the tureen, ask from Sajjad (as)

When the daughter (sa ) of Shabbir (as) (Imam Hussain as) died in the prison and the moment is filled with immense grief and little hands are holding the dead body, ask from Sajjad (as)

There when Fizza (sa) finishes the ghusl (washing) of Sakina (sa) and the people are in a terrible state beside that little grave and the marks from the rope can be seen on the little hands, go ask from Sajjad (as)

I read this article today in the guardian. It was about Saudi women protesting over their right to drive.  My world view is  a very privileged one. I come from the poorest, whitest redneck southern baptist bible thumping snake handling revival town you can imagine. I grew up seeing hands being laid on people to cast out the devil, people running around the church in circles and shouting while speaking in tongues. I was baptized at the age of ten in a freezing cold creek to try to get the “devil outta me”. Then again at age 13 after I attempted suicide.

I tell you all this so that you can better understand where I sit today because you see this is what I look like today:

I look like this by choice not by force. No husband or brother or father or government forces me to dress this way. I do it because it’s right for me. I get it’s not for everyone and I have no issue with that. When I’m in the US/UK etc I don’t wear the full face veil, but when I’m overseas I do.

Now that you know me understand I’ve seen both sides of the coin. And it angers me. It angers me that people take something that is so personal, so spiritual and so individual in nature and taint it with their toxicity and perversions. It angers me that people of all religions abuse and use their religion for their own personal gain.

99% of the so called “Islamic” laws that exist today have nothing in reality to do with the religion itself. They are all man made and people have placed the stamp of religion on them. While a part of me cheers these brave women on who are participating in the driving protest, another part of me knows the price they will pay for doing so.

I don’t think there will be any real change until people who are in more privileged societies demand the change. But they are complacent. I use to be one of the complacent until I moved and now I have  electric only 4 hours a day while it’s 115+ degrees every single day. You might think my biggest worry would that it’s fucking hot and I have no A/C or fan but that isn’t the biggest worry for people here. They worry how they’ll work because how do you work when there’s no electric?

Regardless of your job try imagining living  in a society with no electric and then imagine how you would work to earn money to support your family, how would you put gas/petrol in your car?

The world is a much bigger place than the tiny bubbles we live in. If I hadn’t broken out of my bubble, I’d never have known.

As a warning, anyone who comments and says “if you don’t like it then just leave” will be deleted. Because this is my blog and my rules. I’m here by choice. And I’m not complaining. Not for myself, but for the millions of people who suffer everyday, who have no voice and no one to speak for them. There is much change that is needed in this world. My only fear is that not only will I not live to see it  but my children’s children will not live to see it.

So yesterday I wrote a post asking people to comment about questions they had regarding Islam. I’m working on a book and wanted to address the most commonly asked questions non-muslims have. Deus ex Machina asked a few questions but the question I found most intriguing was:

Are there any laws/rules in Islam regarding what a woman does to her body with respect to hair cutting, make-up, shaving, etc?

The reason for this is well I’ve always been somewhat of a rebel when it came to my hair and appearance. I was 17 when I converted to Islam and by the time I converted there wasn’t a color my hair had not been and I had about 12 piercings in my ears; 8 in the right and 4 in the left. There was no logic to the 8 and 4 it just seemed  like the thing to do. When I converted, like  most people I thought I’d have to dress like a nun and if you see the picture from yesterday you most likely think I do, but sometimes it’s not what’s on the outside that’s important, but what’s on the inside.

I’ll get to the Islamic requirements in a moment, but first I have to tell you this story. When I was in my 20′s I got divorced from my husband. One of the main reasons behind our divorce was the fact that I chose to wear the head scarf. He, a born muslim, didn’t like me wearing it and I refused to not wear it so he decided to have affairs with as many women as possible instead. Thus we divorced and in pure rebel fashion I decided to get my tongue pierced. At that time I didn’t wear the full face veil, only the head scarf, and even today when I go to visit in the US, UK, or European countries, I don’t wear the full face veil because it is NOT a requirement in Islam. Only the head scarf, known as hijab, is required. Not to be outdone two girls at the retail store I worked at went with me to get their belly buttons pierced.

I wish I had a camera to take a picture of the looks on the people’s faces as we walked into the tattoo parlor to get the piercings. I spoke to the head guy and explained I needed a female to do it and it needed to be behind a curtain as I couldn’t be seen by the male customers or male workers. Luckily there happened to be a female on duty that night, and the guy thought it was so freaking cool that I was getting this done, he set up a curtained off area for me so I could in fact get my tongue pierced and gave me 50% off the piercing.

When I could change it out, I mostly wore a flat flesh toned one to hide it, but on rebel days I’d wear a big silver ball one. When I moved overseas, I removed it. The need for the rebellion had worn off and so I took it out. Although I do know many women who have their belly buttons, eyebrows, ears, nose, and tongues pierced. For some it’s just a cool thing for others it’s more a cultural thing, but regardless of the reason, many muslim women do pierce and adorn their bodies under their robes and veils. And it is ALLOWED in Islam.

I know you hear lots of so called scholars on TV, Islamic extremists shouting the full face veil is compulsory and women can’t do this and women can’t do that, but that is their personal opinion. If you challenge them to show you can actual verse from Quran, they won’t be able to. There is absolutely NOTHING that states a woman cannot adorn herself. Yes she must cover the adornment and it can only be seen by her husband, but she can color her hair, wear make-up, jewelry etc to her heart’s content.

I’m sure most people have heard of “henna tattoos”. I know for awhile it was becoming popular. Ever wonder where that came from? Muslim women.

This is what a typical muslim bride looks like on her wedding day. Her hands, arms, and feet are adorned with henna (or mehndi) tattoos. Also on all festive holidays and celebrations, you’ll find women adorning themselves with these decorative henna tattoos. They’re temporary and come off within 3-6 weeks depending on how long the dye was left to set when it was initially applied.

Regarding shaving, it is required that at least once every 40 days a woman shaves. This includes under the arms, legs, and private areas and is for hygienic purposes.  It can be more but shouldn’t be less. Now does every muslim woman do this? Probably not. Oh and this shaving requirement, it’s for both females AND males. Men are also suppose to shave under their arms and private areas once every 40 days as well as keep their beards trimmed and clean.

As for Islamic rules, a woman can pretty much do whatever she wants to her hair, but it must be covered. I realize to most people that seems to defeat the purpose. This post isn’t about WHY the scarf is worn so I’m not going to go into the details of that since this is mainly about what a woman is or isn’t allowed to do. Also the intention of the women is very important. If a woman wears bangles that will make noise when she walks simply to attract the attention of males so that she can then have affairs, then  she has broken Islamic law and it is forbidden to wear bangles for this purpose. If a woman wears bangles/bracelets because she just happens to fancy  them and not to attract attention of anyone, but when she walks there is a noise, then she has not broken any Islamic law. In Islam, many of the laws are based upon the intention of the person. Now if you ask an extremist, they’ll flat out tell you that wearing of such bangles is forbidden under any and all circumstances. Ask them to show you the ruling for this and they’ll be unable to do so. If you have more questions feel free to ask. If you want to be anonymous, you can always send through my contact form.

If by my profile pic it isn’t obvious, then let me just come out of the closet right now, I’m muslim. Not the closet you were expecting, huh? Well here’s another I CHOOSE to wear the full face veil. I’ll give ya’ll a moment to digest that. I’ve read a lot of books about Islam and Muslims in English, obviously. Majority of them don’t tell you much and don’t really tell you a whole lot about anything specifically regarding women. So I’d like to take a vote. In the comments sections, write your top 5 things you’d like to know about Islam, Muslims, women in islam, Quran, etc.

My goal is to write a book answering some of the questions non-muslims have and to provide some honest to goodness answers from a very unique perspective. So fire away! Now’s your chance to ask a real live muslim anything you want. Some of the questions I don’t include in the book I’ll answer here on my blog.

If you prefer to be anonymous you can also send it through my contact form.

Book update: the cover for “Letters From a Bipolar Mother” is almost complete I hope to be able to share it with you all sometimes next week